Inside-Out Hong Kong Coconut Buns

Coconut buns, or “cocktail buns” are a beloved bakery favorite among locals in Hong Kong and Chinatowns everywhere. It combines the soft, buttery milk bread ubiquitous around Asia, with a sweet, rich coconut filling.

Often, the filling ends up baked in a big hunk in the center of the bun. When you eat it, you can rip off pieces of bread along with bits of filling so you can get both in each bite. But that got us thinking…what if everything was all evenly distributed to begin with? We decided to try making these “Inside-Out” Hong Kong Coconut Buns to do just that. They’re so pretty when baked–a swirl of soft bread and sweet coconut. They’re also surprisingly easy to make!

You can also try the more traditional Chinese Bakery Coconut Cocktail bun recipe which is really popular, amazingly good and you can make that at home too!

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and set aside for 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat together the milk, sugar, and egg. In a large mixing bowl or mixer with a dough hook attachment, combine the flour and salt. Add in the yeast and milk mixtures.

If using a mixer, knead with a dough hook on low for a minute, and then high for 2 minutes. Then add the softened butter and knead on a medium high setting for 13 minutes. Yeah…adding the butter at this stage is kind of gross. Just trust us…knead it well, and you’ll get a smooth, soft dough.

If kneading by hand, knead for about 8 minutes and add the butter. Then knead for another 25-30 minutes (you may want to switch on the TV or something). Basically, you need to knead and develop the gluten until you can stretch a piece of dough really thin without it breaking.

Cover the bowl with a damp towel and allow the dough to rise for 50 minutes. After it’s proofed, punch out all the air and divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Let it rest for 15 minutes while you make the filling—just mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl.

To shape the coconut buns, simply roll each piece out into a long rectangle, about 10 inches long. Spread a layer of filling onto each…

…and roll it up lengthwise like a cigar. Cut the cigar in half lengthwise, leaving it attached at one end, so it kind of looks like a long pair of pants.

Split them pants apart (we tried really hard to somehow not make that sound inappropriate and obviously failed), so you kind of just get this really long rope.

Curl up the rope like a snail to make the buns, with all the little lines of dough and filling facing up.

Place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with a damp towel, and let rise again for another hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and brush the coconut buns with egg wash.

Coconut buns is a beloved Chinese bakery favorite that combine the soft, buttery milk bread ubiquitous around Asia, with a sweet, rich coconut filling. These coconut bun have the filling throughout the bun!

Author: Sarah

Recipe type: Bread and Pizza

Cuisine: Chinese

Serves: 12 buns

Ingredients

For the buns:

6g active dry yeast (about 2 teaspoons)

3 tablespoons warm water

1 cup whole milk, at room temperature

5 tablespoons castor sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

500g bread flour (about 3 ½ cups)

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons softened butter

egg wash (1 egg, beaten with a tablespoon of water)

For the coconut filling:

1 ¼ cups sweetened coconut flakes, plus 2 tablespoons

¼ cup non-fat dry milk powder

⅓ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 egg yolks

2½ tablespoons milk

Instructions

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and set aside for 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat together the milk, sugar, and egg. In a large mixing bowl or mixer with a dough hook attachment, combine the flour and salt. Add in the yeast and milk mixtures.

If using a mixer, knead with a dough hook on low for a minute, and then high for 2 minutes. Then add the softened butter and knead on a medium high setting for 13 minutes.

If kneading by hand, knead for about 8 minutes and add the butter. Then knead for another 25-30 minutes (you may want to switch on the TV or something). Basically, you need to knead and develop the gluten until you can stretch a piece of dough really thin without it breaking.

Cover the bowl with a damp towel and allow the dough to rise for 50 minutes. After it’s proofed, punch out all the air and divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Let it rest for 15 minutes while you make the filling—just mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl.

To shape the buns, simply roll each piece out into a long rectangle, about 10 inches long. Spread a layer of filling onto each, and roll it up lengthwise like a cigar. Cut the cigar in half lengthwise, leaving it attached at one end, so it kind of looks like a long pair of pants. Split them pants apart (we tried really hard to somehow not make that sound inappropriate and obviously failed), so you kind of just get this really long rope. Curl up the rope like a snail to make the buns, with all the little lines of dough and filling facing up.

Place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with a damp towel, and let rise again for another hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and brush the buns with egg wash. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

71 Comments

These turned out so much better then I expected due to some changed I had to make. I used unsweetened almond milk for all the milk. (dough and filling). I didnt have any milk powder, so I used 3 Tbsp. cornstarch, 3 tsp. vanilla extract, and added an extra Tbsp of (Almond) milk to the filling to a total of 3 1/2 Tbsp total of milk in the filling. Will be making again real soon. Thank you for this recipe.

I have been looking for this recipe. I grew up eating Chinese bakery in San Francisco. Golden Gate Bakery had a coconut roll similar to this. It’s not a spin off of the cocktail bun. I love it. Thank you for the recipe. But I think, I’m going to make, rolling the dough like an American cinnamon roll. This will give it the look that I remember.

I tried out your recipe because the buns look amazing, but when I tried to stretch out the dough it doesn’t look as smooth as yours in the picture despite kneading it for over 30 minutes. Do you have any suggestions as to what I’m doing wrong?

Hey Emily, the only thing I can think of is that it might be too dry to be elastic? It could have to do with the way you measured the flour (it shouldn’t be “packed” into the measuring cup), or perhaps the climate in your kitchen!

We don’t have sweetened coconut in Australia. How do I make it. I love your recipes and usually make one of your meals each week. Thank you for the recipes, image display and fascinating travel blogs. Susan.

Hi there,
Thanks for this amazing recipe – I’m going to try it this weekend. Can I please ask the recipe for “egg wash”? Also, the pictures of the buns look like they are a bit burnt – is that the way it should be?

Hi I was wanting to use your milk bread recipe for the dough part of this recipe. I was wondering if it was possible to make the buns ahead of time and refrigerate it to bake off the next day. Or just make the dough part and add the filling before you bake?

Hi linda, you can absolutely use the milk bread recipe to make these buns. We get this question about making the dough in advance pretty often, and I’m still not sure how well it would work. It’s definitely worth a try, though––I would make the dough and then refrigerate it (covered tightly with plastic wrap). Then, when you’re ready to make the buns, take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. Then you can assemble the buns and allow them to rise a 2nd time. i’m not sure if this would yield the same results, but let us know how it goes if you do try it!

I’m actually not sure what using self-rising flour would do to the recipe. in general though, I don’t tend to mess with ingredients too much in baking recipes. Many a kitchen disaster has taught me that lesson. :)

I made these last night and I swear to god, they are the best thing I’ve ever made because they taste EXACTLY like my childhood! But even better because they are prettier than the original cocktail buns! Thanks so much for this ace recipe (though also not thanks because I know how easy these are to make now. DANGER ZONE).

Being from Hong Kong means eating lots of “western-style” buns growing up! I always get the inside-out coconut bun whenever I visit the Chinese bakeries in Chinatown! They’re often called the “heart-shape” coconut buns to differentiate from the cocktail buns.

Oh My Gosh! I am falling over, licking my screen right now. When will you be sending me a huge package of these? They look soooooooo delish! So happy you brought them to The Yuck Stops Here link party! HUGS

We have a Chinese bakery near us that has coconut buns, and I adore them. Your version looks even better! Unfortunately, gluten and I aren’t really on speaking terms at this point. I need to figure out a way to enjoy this coconut filling another way!

It’s all about the even coconut to bread distribution, Andi! We salute you for your resolve and restraint on the gluten front. I wonder if there’s a gluten free bread recipe out there that might be fitting? Instead of making a loaf of gluten-free bread, just twist them into these little rolls. Let us know if a brilliant idea strikes!

You would have restraint too if a food made you feel sick all the time ;) I can never stick to any sort of diet, but not wanting to feel bad is a strong motivator! I’m still figuring out the GF baking thing, but this will be high on my list of things to try when I get the swing of it. I feel like I have to learn to bake all over again!

These sound so yummy! I’ll have to make a couple of substitutions because my husband is lactose intolerant, but other than the dry milk powder, we should be fine subbing in coconut milk, and amping the coconut flavor, right? :-) Can’t wait to try them!

Hey Ami, emphasis on the ‘buttery.’ Asian milk breads all have the soft, buttery flavor and texture that this bun has. If I brought one of these to lunch at work, I would totally just end up eating it mid-morning. Self-control has never been my strong suit.

OH MY GOD. These look OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!! I don’t know if I’ve ever had these specifically, but some of my favorite Asian pastries are very similar. Can’t wait to try!!! (And can you make egg custard tarts next?! ;))

They sure do look good to me! Rip those pants apart almost made me spit out my coffee again just now! Haha You guys make me laugh! These look like they are doable for sure!! MMM wish I had one right now!,